NDB
by Ethan Darkcrow
Summary: -Alternate Universe- -Rewrite- What if Obito never died? What if he and Rin raise Naruto as their own son away from Konoha and its people? What would change? Read and find out! Paring - N/A, Powerful-Naruto
1. Divine Intervention

**AUTHOR NOTES: **This is nothing more than a revamp of an old story. I'd appreciate it that if you find an errors to please let me know so that I can correct it.

**

* * *

**

**Prologue – Divine Intervention**

An old leather bound book rest on a golden pedestal, its cover gilded with golden writing and adorned with precious jewels. Of course this was no ordinary book, one could automatically tell by the slight illumination that was coming off the pristine pages that it was supernatural in nature. ,This extraordinary book was one that recoded all the events of a certain world's history. Even now, as it rested quietly on it pedesral, words were appearing on its once blank pages, until…

A page, which once was blank, suddenly began to stain black with ink while footsteps echoed within the darkened room. From the surrounding shadows an old man, who had a thin white bead and mustache which fell to his knees, stepped into the illuminated area. The man's bald held shone dully in the muted light of the room, but what was even more interesting was the beautiful sword that hung at his hip. The exquisite blade crackled with electricity every now and again while the elderly man went about his business.

With a wave of his frail hand the darkness of the room ignited into light as rows and rows of bookshelves revealed themselves. The old man took one look at the black page and shook his head in what seemed to be disappointment before ripping out the offending page.

Turning his attention towards a shelve that held similar books, he pointed a finger and waited as one of those many books wobbled before flying through the air and landing safely in his old weathered hands. Reading some of the words the old man finished by speaking one name, "Uzumaki Naruto…"

Letting go of the tome in his hands, it wasn't a surprise when the book found its way back to the shelve where it had been stored. Turning his head the man summoned another tome that seemed to interest him. Said tome was a rather thin book which sported a faded image of a fan on its cover.

Flipping the pages of the book, the elderly man mumbled something to himself before stopping on a certain page. The very air around the man shivered while the book in his hands began to change and warp. The image of the library and the bookcases melted and fell away as they revealed a bright forest with a rocky landscape. Looking down at his hands the man smiled as he watched the short tome suddenly transform into a thick book that was filled with new blank pages.

Closing the book, and watching it melt into nothingness, the elderly man began to stroll briskly in a certain direction. His stroll brought him to the mouth of a small man-made cave. With the dank recesses of the cave a strange scene greeted the old man.

There, in front of him, four people hovered in mid action, as if the scene was nothing more than a picture that had been given life. A brutish looking man, whose hand was set firmly on the ground, wore a wicked grin on his face. The man's gaze seemed to lock on a trio of young teens that seemed to be caught in a hail of boulders, undoubtedly the man's doing.

A brown haired girl looked on in horror while a boy with spiky black hair and red eyes seemed to be pushing his friend, or comrade, out of the way of a very large boulder. The old man knew the child was about to save his friend at the cost of his life.

Twirling his long, thin, wispy beard around his fingers in thought, while taking in the scene of self sacrifice, he smiled to himself before saying in a soft voice, "You must not die here, young Uchiha. There is much for you to do, and a darkness that must be averted."

Pulling his sword from his belt as the sound of rolling thunder echoed through the plains, the old man struck the boulder that was threatening to kill the young boy. Nothing happened, but yet the man looked pleased as he quickly turned away from the scene and nodded in self satisfaction. Stepping away from the quartet the man's form slowly disappeared until there was nothing left, except for the sound of thunder rolling through the area.

When he left, the scene, which had been frozen in time, now began to resuming its normal speed.

The black haired boy squeezed his eyes shut expecting the boulder to strike him, while at the same time the boulder overhead split into two halves and completely missed him. Not feeling the hit of the boulder, the black haired boy opened his eyes and saw that he and his friends were fine. That was when all three of them looked at the now very angry and equally confused man, they watched as his wicked smile now fading from his face only to be replace with a suspicious look.

"You're going to pay for that!" said the red eyed boy as his friend stood next to him, "This time we're going to make sure you stay down!"


	2. The Demons Demise

**AUTHOR NOTES: **This is nothing more than a revamp of an old story. I'd appreciate it that if you find an errors to please let me know so that I can correct it.

**

* * *

**

Chapter One - The Demon's Demise

The earth, it trembled. The night sky shook with the thunderous roar of a caged beast, while ninja on the ground did everything in their power to keep this "force of nature" at bay. Behind the desperate warriors lay their homes and families, yet standing before them was an ominous beast called the Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine-tailed Fox). It was an ancient demon of unimaginable power and malevolence, and tonight it seemed to have Konoha in its sights.

The men and women that stood between this beast and their homes steeled their resolve while pledging to not let it gain any more ground. The beast released another air shattering roared as several powerful jutsu tore through its flank. In retaliation it swung two of its tails wildly and showered the lucky ninja with a rain of house sized boulders. The lucky ones were crushed under the hail of stone, while the unlucky were burned and poisoned by the beasts malevolent chakra.

"_Die_!" growled the giant fox as it released a wave of terror, watching as the fear it created swept through the shinobi ranks causing those with weak minds to double over and scream in helplessness. To the shinobi on the ground, it felt like a blanket of despair covered the battle field and many began to run for their lives.

That was when another gargantuan shadow flew across the field revealing itself to be the boss toad, Gamabunta. Landing in front of the demon fox, the monster size elder toad had his war blade unsheathed and at the ready while a figure on the toad's head seemed to dispel all the worries of the ninja behind him.

"Keep it busy!" yelled the blonde man atop of the toad as the ninja seemed to rally around the man and renewed their attack on the fox pushing it further back. On the toad's head the man glared briefly at the giant demon fox before sighing in a sad manner. Going through a specific set of seals and gather an enormous amount of chakra into the chakra point in his abdomen he watched in fear and awe as a transparent vision appeared before him from nothingness.

A spirit stood before him with a hungry look in its black eyes, its white pristine robes and dead grey hair seemed to rustle slightly as if there was a wind running through them. In the spirits black toothed maw was a beautiful blade that looked to be made from both ivory and onyx while the blade glistened in the moonlight of this dreadful night. The shinigami – the man had known exactly what he had summoned – began chanting as its hand rose over its head while prayer beads seemed to tighten around its translucent skin.

His blue eyes held the specter gaze but they widened when he saw the spirits hair reach out and grasp something invisible. Slowly a specter came into view, at first he couldn't distinguish its shape but when it began to shine brighter he was floored with the revelation. A human form was outlined in bluish-gold energy, and it was currently being restrained by this ghost's hair.

He knew what it was and yet he still wasn't prepared for all the emotions that surged through him.

His soul...

...the form within the grasp of the death spirit was the man's own soul.

No longer wanting to look at the specter, he focused his attention to the threat that was hell-bent on destroying his village. It was here, at this point in time, that he remembered his conversation with his students when he told them of his insane plan, and he smiled slightly as he remembered their reaction...

"_Are you mad!?" yelled a young man who wore a dark blue clothing with dark orange trim, while his black hair seemed to bristle at the idea his teacher and leader had just suggested. He adjusted his goggles while running a nervous finger over a scar that marred the back of his hand._

"_Hey, broom head! Tell him he's crazy!" said the young man lividly as he turned to another person that occupied the room. Sitting on a chair quietly was another young man with spiky silver hair. His lower face was covered by a black mask and one of his eyes were also cover. The expression on his face usually conveyed a feeling of boredom, but right now it was definitely giving off a hostile vibe that said 'call me that again and I rip your tongue out'._

"_As much as it pains me to agree with him," huffed the one eyed boy in exasperation, "He is right. You shouldn't go and sacrifice yourself needlessly." The black haired boy shook his head up and down vigorously as he tried to get the point through that he agreed with his partner._

_The blond man in front of the two young men began to talk, but he was interrupted as yet another voice sounded from the shadows of the room. A light brown haired woman emerged with a frown covering her face as she said, "I agree with them Hokage-sama. You are needed here...what if you plan doesn't work? We will lose one of our most competent leaders and a powerful ninja before our real battle has begun. Also…what about your wife? Do you think she would want this? Besides, are you sure that this will even work?"_

"_Will it work?" asked the Hokage in a serious voice that cut through each of the people looking at him, "I honestly don't know, but it is my duty to protect everyone. I cannot send others to die without trying something as well. That is the duty of a Hokage, one that is asked of him…and him alone."_

"_But Kushina…"_

"_Is dead," the man stated, shifting his body and face into the shadows of the room. "There was an unforeseen complication and she died giving birth," explained the blonde haired Hokage when he saw the young lady about to speak._

_Shaking his head at the somberness that the room took on, he looked at each of the ninja in the room with a sad smile "If you can come up with a better plan in the next couple of hours I'm all ears, otherwise...I'm going through with my original plan. Is that understood?"_

"_But," the blacked haired man all but screamed at his blonde haired leader while the young woman placed a small hand on his chest which seemed to calm him down a bit. "I don't know how to even...this is a baby we're talking about, and...DAMN IT THIS IS MAKING ME SO ANGRY!" he yelled while punching his fist through the nearby wall. Not knowing what to do with himself the young man stomped out of the room leaving the three behind as he screamed and curses his way down the street._

"_I'm so sorry about this sens...um...I mean Hokage-sama," she bowed quickly, tears flowing from her eyes, as she ran after the young man. This left the silver haired young man and his leader staring at each other with nothing but silence between them._

_It seemed that the one to break the silence was to be the subordinate as he ran his fingers through his hair while saying casually, "Explain to me again why you want him to raising your son?"_

"_Kakashi," said the Hokage softly while looking out the window at the approaching menace in the distance, "you should know that even though he's a loudmouth and a pain in the rear, Obito is a good person who has his heart in the right place." The young man named Kakashi looked away when he felt blue eyes training themselves on the young man, "Who convinced Rin to research organ transplant? Who went through hell to get his clan to accept his bother's donation of his eye to you?"_

_Kakashi looked anywhere but at the blonde while he adjusted the forehead protector slightly and sighed loudly. _

"_Besides," the man said with a grin, "He always had Rin to straighten him out when ever he gets too full of himself. That has to count for something, right?"_

_Kakashi's eye curled familiarly as the blonde knew he was smiling underneath his mask, "Yeah, I guess so."_

"_Now remember," the Hokage said with a grimace as he looked around and whispered softly, "No one is to know of this. Not even the Sandaime, got that?"_

"_I understand," said Kakashi as he looked in the corner of the room at the small child that slept quietly in a blue blanket._

The man looked back in time to see the spirit's hand, it was covered in all sorts of strange seal-like marks, plunging into the souls body. The pain that shot through his body was almost unbearable. It was something akin to someone driving their arm through his chest and squeezing his heart. He was in so much pain that he was barely able to stand straight.

"Minato! Are you okay?" asked the giant toad under him in a gruff voice.

"Yes. I'm alright, Bunta-sama," Minato replied as he winced at the feeling that was creeping over him. "Alright! Bunta? Get me closer, I have a surprise for it..."

Grunting the giant frog leaped into the air firing off three gigantic balls of water from its mouth that seemed to break over a red chakra barrier. '_Forgive me son_, _but there are no other choices…_,' thought the man as he jumped off the frogs head and dove straight at the fox while a spectral hand seemed to rip out from his chest plunging deep into the demon fox body!

The foxes eyes widened as it felt its soul being pulled from its atifical body and funneled into a waiting cage with wrought iron bars. '_NOOOOOOOOO_!' the beast screamed as the doors to its cage closed and seemed to become sealed with something that not even it, with it's raw and unimaginable power, could break.

The ninja on the field watched as their leader engaged the beast for a moment before the thing gave a death knell and seemed to burn away to nothing. Cheers could be heard as several ninja happy thanked their leader for defeating the menace to their village, but others watched in horror as a limp body fell from the sky and lay unnaturally still. It was those ninja that bowed their heads and prayed silently for their leader as he had made the ultimate sacrifice for the village, he had given his life to save them.

* * *

In a small room, three people stood watching a small baby sleeping atop a sacred alter. The alter was covered in seals and had several candles burned brightly at the corners of its surface. Suddenly, the flames of the candles flickered as their color turned blue and then they exploded with fury as they changed into fountains of blood red flame before dying out to nothing, that's when the crying started. Lighting the candles again, the three watched as three whisker marks appeared on each side of the baby's tear streaked face and a black seal appeared on the child's stomach for a moment then disappeared.

"That's it," the silver haired ninja said with a bit of sadness lacing his voice while he looked away from the baby. Rin began to cry while holding her hand to her face and sobbing into her palms.

The only one of the group who hadn't said anything was standing over the crying baby. Slowly, and with an infinite amount of care, the man lifted the child and bundled him up while rocking him slowly. "He told me your name was to be Naruto," said the spiky haired man holding the bundle and watching as the child forgot it's crying to yawn and snuggle deeper into the blankets, "From this day on Naruto, I pledge my life to you. As I pledged my life to him."

Kakashi watched in awe as his friend rarely show this side of himself. He couldn't help but smirk as he walked over to his friend and looked down at the baby now sleeping in Obito's arms. "I, Hatake Kakashi, pledge my life to you Naruto, as my friend has done before me."

Rin finally wiped away her last tear as she joined her friends and said, " I, Ishikawa Rin, pledge my life to you, as my friends have done before me." And with that said the three of them watched the little child smile peacefully as he twitched ever so slightly in Obito's arms.

* * *

The day after the tragic climax with the Nine-tails was filled with grief, sorrow, sadness, tears and a glimmering ray of hope. The people of the village of Konoha stood quietly at the funeral for the Yondiame Hokage, hero and savior of the village. Many other mourned the deaths of their loved ones and those who were injured seriously in the battle.

However, as almost everyone presided over the funeral, three figures could be found saying their goodbyes at one of the gates to the great village.

"Remember to come see us every now and again," said Rin as she hugged Kakashi making him feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Mm," Kakashi mumbled while remembering the scene they had created that night in the Hokage's office...

"_What are you saying!?" questioned the Sandaime as he looked at the two people that stood before him. Both were students of the man that had just died saving them, he couldn't believe that he was hearing correctly._

"_I said," replied Obito with a surge of confidence, "that I would like to resign from being a Konoha ninja and would like to request that we be moved into an ex-nin community outside of Konoha." The words were hard to say as they sounded treacherously like disrespect, seeing that the Hokage had just saved their lives, but Obito knew that they had to be said and he wasn't about to back down now._

_Rin spoke up as a lull seemed to settle over the room, "I too want to resign and follow...my love where ever he goes." Sandaime looked up in partial shock but then deflated , the old man knew what they might be feeling at the moment and he wasn't about to try and change their minds. Pulling out a small document from his desk he told them to sign it._

_After signing and writing something at the bottom, he made several seals and slapped his hand down on the document making all traces of ink on the paper vanish. "All you records have become sealed and your names have now been moved to the ex-nin roster. I don't know what has happened to make you choose this course of action, but I have included a slightly loop hole in your resignation that will allow you to come back at anytime."_

"_Also…Obito...about your family's bloodline..." the old man pointed out, watching the young man's eye twitch in annoyance. _

"_I have been excommunicated from the Uchiha's. They have already taken precautions, though I have no doubt they will keep tabs on me every now and again." growled out the black haired man as he tightened his fist slightly and then blew out a angry breath._

"_Fine," said the Sandaime Hokage while opening his hand in explanation, "but the only community that is available for resigned ninjas at the moment, is the village of Horoyu located on the southern peninsula near the tea country."_

_Both ninja nodded once as they thanked the old man and said their goodbyes. This left only the old man and a silver haired jounin standing in the company of each other. "Do you know what this is about?" asked Sandaime with a piercing look at the young jounin in front of him._

"_Some wounds cut deeper than others," Kakashi said cryptically keeping his face impassive._

"_Such a shame," the Hokage thought out loud, "we've already lost so many and now I must see even more leave...will Konoha ever be the same?"_

Kakashi was broken out of his thoughts when a hand stretched out before him, and he found himself looking into the dark eyes of his best and pretty much only friend other than Rin. "Will I see you soon?" asked Obito, his eyes slowly taking on a reddish tint of the Uchiha bloodline.

"You shouldn't be showing that," Kakashi chided his friends before answering, "Most definitely."

Kakashi watched the two walk past the wooden gate into the wide world while he stood his ground. Rin was currently rocking the small bundle in her arms, as Obito lugged a large pack over his shoulders and caught up to the two while looking back to give a wink to his one eyed friend.

At that moment a loud gong-like sound could be heard as it was carried on the wind. The funeral had started and he was late, but Kakashi thought as he stood there watching the three leave Konoha, '_And so like the phoenix of legend, as one dies another shall rise to take its place_.'


	3. The Fire of Youth

**AUTHOR NOTES: **This is nothing more than a revamp of an old story. I'd appreciate it that if you find an errors to please let me know so that I can correct it.

* * *

**Chapter Two - The Fire of Youth**

The years had seemed to pass by quickly as both Obito and Rin had settled down in Horoyu village with Naruto. At first the move was difficult because most of the village saw the new couple as strangers, but as time pasted and people got to know them they became an intricate part of village.

* * *

Obito had kept his skills, as a ninja, sharp by becoming a hunter of sorts, while Rin — on the other hand — decided to set up a small medical office. Suffice to say, Rin was often the one who brought in the most money, as her office was the first of its kind in the area and the people of Horoyu always seemed to be sick or in need of medical attention. Just the fact that Rin had to hire several apprentices and employees was an indication of how much business the office usually did. There were even orders from neighboring villages that were delivered by Obito as he did his so-called "hunting".

Deep down Rin knew that Obito wasn't hunting animals. Even thought he'd come back with one from every trip and have a fantastic story about he got lost and wandered about trying to find something to hunt. She knew that her husband was hunting criminals for the surrounding towns and villages, and was being paid quiet well for it. However, she also knew that Obito would have done the jobs even without the pay. It was hard for a ninja to go against years of training, and it was hard for Obito to pass up a chance to stretch his legs and dust off his skills.

As for their adopted son, Naruto grew up fast. Faster than they had ever seen a child grow. The little blond bundle of joy was walking before he even reached the one year mark. He was a happy child, and even seemed to radiate a strange aura of calmness from him as he seemed to get into everything.

Rin would often smile when she thought about how attached to Naruto her husband had become. Obito could often be seen playing with him in the yard, and even at night he would read stories to the little child while kissing him good night after the blonde ball of sunshine had fallen asleep.

Whenever he wasn't "hunting", Obito was the consummate father and Rin could often be seen with a thoughtful look on her face as she wondered if he would have been like this with their child?

* * *

Several years had passed and Naruto's fifth birth day had come and gone. The two parents, ex-ninja, had been training Naruto in the ninja arts since the day had come when he could understand what they were talking about. Between his education and training, the little boy had a small amount of time to wander about the village and explore.

The people of the village loved their little Naruto. He was often seen watching the old men play shogi down at the parlor in the middle of town. All of the older man treated the little boy as if he was a grandson or nephew, and they often could be caught trying to teach the little blonde how to play shogi in between games.

The feeling, that Naruto was a part of the family, was mutual for almost everyone in the small village. However, since the village was for retired ex-ninja most everyone here was already an adult which left Naruto almost no one his age to play games with, but that didn't seem to deter the little boy in his friendships. He could often be found sitting in the shogi parlor with the older men as he listen to the stories that they told or working aside the women as they made lunch in the near by restaurant.

Because of his tenant, Rin would often make a routine check up of Naruto's health every month. She was always surprised to see that the little boy's chakra reserves were always expanding while his inner chakra coils seemed to thicken and taken on the appearance of that of an adult. Another worry of hers was when Naruto had cut himself severely on a freshly cut bamboo pole, she was shocked to see that the wound closed almost instantly and the tissue around it reverted back to its smooth appearance.

His healing capabilities and his high immune system often made the boy a bit more rambunctious than other of his age. Rin's worry wasn't about where his ability had come from, but rather what this ability was doing to her adopted son. With her expertise and understanding of the body Rin knew the adverse effect that the regeneration was causing, that being that cells only divide so many times in a lifetime. She knew that his own special ability would shorten his lifespan if he ever was severely hurt, so she began to research a way to remove the possible danger that this ability might cause in the near future.

* * *

Another two years had passed, and finally Naruto began to apply the training that his parents had been giving him all this time.

Currently, Obito watched as his son tried desperately to keep his feet above a small pond that they would often frequent for training. Even though Naruto could only hold himself over the pond for a minutes at a time, it was more than any other child could do at that age.

The little boy wasn't genius, but he did have a passion for learning everything about being a shinobi, especially if his father has asked him to learn it. The father smiled as he remembered the times that he would teach Naruto a new move and leave him to his own devices, only to return to find the boy sleeping on the ground from exhaustion. Obito knew that nothing ever came easy to the blonde, but what he noticed was that when his son finally understood something he had the uncanny knack for twisting and bending it to his will.

The young father smile as he watched the little boy's face curl slightly into a sneer before he swore loudly and tried to get control of his technique by pumping even more chakra his rapidly fading jutsu. "Hey, watch the language! You know you mother doesn't like you saying those words and neither do I," Obito said sternly.

Naruto bowed his head in shame as he said, "Sorry, otosan, but...it just that I can't get a handle on this!" His frustrated cry made Obito look up and watch as his son stood trying the jutsu again while he was panting in frustration. Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Obito's eye's began to under go a slight transformation as a reddish tint crept into the his iris and a black tomoe made itself known. A half formed Sharingan eye was now staring at the little boy while he struggled with his jutsu, and those eyes saw something that they wouldn't have believed if they didn't already know about it.

Bluish chakra swirled around Naruto for a moment before a small burst of red chakra would emanate from his abdomen. This reddish energy easily disrupted the delicate balance Naruto was trying to hold, and as such his control would go out the window. Trying to combat the foreign energy, Naruto would push more chakra into the technique, but that was like using a band-aid to stop a leak that was on dam.

The partially formed Sharingan faded and Obito's eyes returned to their normal dark color. "What were you feeling at that moment, Naruto?"

"Moment?" asked the little boy as his eye squinted in confusion.

"The moment you lost control," clarified Obito while he walked to the other side of the small pond.

Naruto stood still in low grass as he thought back to that part and realized something. "I was really mad that this was taking so long to get the hang of," Naruto said softly trying not to draw his father's attention.

"Exactly, so...what do you think you should do now that you know that those feeling might be the cause of your problem?" asked the black haired man as he picked up a rather large stick and waved it around testing its strength.

Naruto looked down at the waters and thought hard about what his father had taught him, and for a second he almost said something but instead he chose to sit down next to a tree while closing his eyes and willing his frustrations and anger away.

Obito smiled as he sat next to his son and handed him a small canteen of water to refresh himself. '_He knew that just trying harder would've caused even more trouble and grief for him. However, at the same time...where I would have __left the training off for another day, he has only decided to take a short break to gather himself_.'

Later that day, father and son walked into their house while Naruto face was a glow with pride for getting the hang of the walker walking trick. Upon arriving home, both of them were witness to a solemn looking Rin who told Naruto to wash up for dinner as she tentatively handed a piece of paper to Obito, "Its...important."

That night, Naruto watched his dad storm out of the house in fury, his eyes blood red with anger as he walked off into the dark of the night. His mother was sitting quietly at the family table, a sad look covered her face as unshed tears lingered in her eyes. Gathering his courage Naruto padded into the room and sat next to his mom, "Kasan? What happened? What's wrong with tosan?"

Rin felt the light pressure of little arms around her waist, and when she focused on the source she saw that Naruto was hugging her and his face looked expectantly up at her waiting for a reply. "Your father's family..." said Rin slowly turning over the thought that maybe she shouldn't be telling Naruto this, but one look into his eyes told her that he needed to know, "someone bad has killed all of you father's family, son."

"What? Why?" asked the blue eyed boy with such confusion that Rin decided that he didn't need to know the specifics.

Rin chose instead to look away to hide the sadness on her face as she said, "Sometimes events will happen in your life that will leave you confused, Naruto. When this happens, it's up to you to find your own answers."

Naruto sniffed at his mothers answer as he cold almost "feel" the sadness rolling off of her. "Don't cry kasan," said Naruto as he jumped down from his mothers lap and walked to the door where Obito had left, "I'll find the answers for you and dad." The little boy stepped out not looking back, and though he couldn't see her he was sure that his words had helped his mother.

Sure enough, seeing her little boy dealing with such sadness from his parents in a collected manner made Rin feel a bit more secure as she took a deep breath and centered herself. 'I can't act like this,' thought the woman as she stood up and began preparing some tea for her husband and son.

Naruto spotter his father sitting on a tree stump, which over looked a small lake that they was nearby. Walking slowly, but purposefully he came within several feet of his father only to hear him say in a harsh tone, "What do you want?"

"Can I sit?" asked Naruto, as his fathers form stood straight in shock. It had seemed that he wasn't expecting his son to follow him. Naruto waited a moment and began opening his mouth to ask again, when his father spoke up and said, "Sure...go ahead."

Naruto plopped down next to his dad as they looked out at the lake in silence. He didn't have to see his father's face to feel the anger that was literally emitting from the man at the moment. However, instead of talking to his dad, Naruto decided to just be next to him.

This was how it was for an hour and a half. The two stood watching the shore of the lake sweep in and gentle sweep out, every now and again one of them would shift their position or entertain themselves with something. During this time, Naruto had noticed that a nearby tree looked like it had received the brunt of his father rage as he spied several burnt out holes that still seemed to be smoldering quietly.

Obito watched the waters ripple in front of him as he thought of his family, his mother, father, sisters...all of them dead. He wanted to become angry and take revenge on the person who killed them, as his blood was boiling and his vision became clouded with anger. However...for some reason, ever since his adopted son as sat down beside him, Obito could feel his anger beginning to ebb like the shores of the lake he looked out at, it seemed every minute that he sat with the quiet boy that his "real" feeling came into perspective.

It had been quiet a while since on of the two males said anything, then without warning Naruto asked, "So?"

Looking at him in confusion Obito replied by saying, "So what?"

"When do we leave to catch those bad people and kick their butts?" Naruto asked a wide eyed Obito while he grinned at his father.

A heavy sadness crushed down on the older man, gazing at the boy across from him, he smirked and said, "We don't."

"No?"

"No." responded Obito as he looked at Naruto and said in a solemn voice, "Revenge will never solve anything, son. A good shinobi knows that instinctively. Besides, it won't bring back my family, will it?" Obito smiled when he saw the little blonde shaking his head as an answer to his father's question.

"So?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Do you want to go back home? Cause I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!" said Naruto as his little stomach growled viciously at the both of them. Obito laugh long and hard as he got off his seat, but before him and his son left he hugged the little boy and ruffled his hair.

* * *

It was after that day that Naruto had noticed that his father was starting to become a bit stricter about training. Naruto didn't mind it, even though he complained and even got into shouting matched with his dad every now and again, because he knew that deep down his father was training him so that he would never have to lose an important person again.

One day, when they were training in a field, Naruto was asked by his father, "What are shinobi considered if they break the rules?"

Thinking of his lessons, Naruto said, "They are thought of poorly? Right?"

"Yeah," said his father, "ninja who break the rules are trash, son. Of course, this rule also applies to all people as well," Naruto was nodding his head with a bit of happiness until his father continued by saying, "But...those ninja who abandon their friends are scum. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The blonde thought it over his blue eyes darting to and fro as he too into consideration what his father had said. "Never leave your friends...even if you have to break the rules?" Naruto answered his father with a tentative question.

"Right," answered Obito as he continued their training for that day.

* * *

Several weeks had passed without any more incidents or acknowledgment of what happened to the "Uchiha clan", and Naruto was beginning to feel worn out by the 'special training' his father was giving. As the little boy thought about it, it wasn't just his father who was wearing him out. No, everyone in the village had a hand in training him to death! His schedule was so hectic that he barely had any time for himself, or fun!

In the wee hours of the morning he would train with his father, by the afternoon he would show up at his mothers shop for some medical ninja training. This would usually last a couple of hours after which several of the older men of the two would pick him up and whisk him away to the local gaming parlor for his routine "strategy and patience training", as the old men in the parlor called it.

Yume-obasan, would usually appear some time in between games to train him in, what she called, "the noble art of genjutsu". The woman was obsessed, she knew that he was completely horrible at recognizing, using, and escaping genjutsu's. However, Yume-obasan was not to be deterred, besides there wasn't much else to do around Horoyu. Plus, she never had children of her own and she wanted to pass her knowledge on to someone.

And so the little blonde trained day in and out, there were even days where some people would pay him with jutsu scrolls or training tips for doing labor around their house. It only dawned on Naruto later that it seemed that their were a lot of people who knew how to be a ninja around their town. He could remember his father falling to the ground laughing when he had mentioned that fact as he said something that sounded like, 'you're only just figuring this out now'.

This month, however, was different than other months, because as long as Naruto could remember every now and again a silver haired ninja would visit his mother and father. The three would usually converse for several hours in the confines of the sitting room, until the stranger would take his leave. Neither his mother nor his father talked about the man, but he knew that they were well acquainted with him and they often looked forward to his visits.

This visit was different though...Naruto had been practicing his kunai and shuriken skills when the man had arrived at his usual late time. However, unlike the time he had seen the man before, his one visible eye was set into a serious expression. Walking up to Naruto the man asked, "Are your parents in?"

"They're in the back," responded Naruto in a wary tone of voice as he felt that something just wasn't right with the way the man held himself. Naruto watched as the man nodded his head once and walked to the back of the house.

He heard his father's voice calling out to the man as he rounded the corner, "Hey! Bout' time you got here! I was about to send out a sear...what's this?"

"I've been asked to give you a message. Can we go inside?" the man spoke solemly.

"Sure," Naruto heard his mother say sounding worried. Hearing the click of the sliding door which was followed by a sharp crack as the door to their private sitting room was closed. Naruto wanted to get closer, but he knew that his father and the man were too good at detecting him. Instead, he settled for listening to what bits of conversation could be heard from where he was, which was not much.

Muffled voice could be heard discussing something, until Naruto heard his father shout, "What are they thinking!? Do they even know what I went through!" The voices soon resumed their hushed conversation, as Naruto heard his mother saying something. '_Probably calming tosan down_,' he gathered when the voices seemed to speed up as if their were in a heated discussion again.

"No!" said a voice as deep, solid, stubborn and immovable as a mountain, and as familiar as his own was. Naruto had recognized his father voice and it sounded like he was not going to be swayed from his decision, "I don't care! We are not going any sooner or later!" With that last set of words Naruto heard a door being slid open while his mother called out to his father. Suddenly he turned the corner catching Naruto listening in and frowned while he marched off to his favorite spot to cool off...as if that poor tree needed any more holes in it.

"I'm sorry," said his mother while he heard the man sigh while shuffling around.

"Its alright, I understand what he's going through," said the silver haired man while he and his mother closed the door to the sitting room and walked around the side of the house. "However, I must do what is asked of me. Please reconsider this," the man said as he looked at the tree that Naruto sat in watching the two.

Shaking her head, Naruto watched his mother smile at the man and say, "Five more years...five more years and then we'll come back. Like Obito said...'no sooner, no later'." The man frowned slightly as he said in frustration, "I'll see what I can do, but don't expect Sandaime or the Council to quit bugging you," said the man while he managed to make his next sentence sound awfully close to a threat and a warning, "Next time they may not send me."

"Understood," said Rin as she nodded once and bowed politely.

"Tell Obito to stop being such an idiot," said the man as he took off in a flash down the main road, while Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man who had insulted his father.

"You can come down now, Naruto," said his mother as she walked over to the tree that the man had been eying.

Jumping lightly out of the tree and managing to trip on a root, Naruto looked up at his mother and smiled while he tried to come up with a good reason for being up in the tree.

"Don't even try," his mother spoke calmly while wearing a beatific smile.

"Are we moving?" Naruto asked after he stood up and brushed of the dirt and odd stick off his clothing.

Rin looked in the direction that her husband had left and said in a calm tone of voice that often followed one of her bouts of frustration, "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?" he asked pressing his luck, but wanting an answer none the less.

"It means that now your _real_ training starts," she said with a grin while her adopted son looked at her with a face filled with horror.


	4. Returning Home

**AUTHOR NOTES: **This is nothing more than a revamp of an old story. I'd appreciate it that if you find an errors to please let me know so that I can correct it.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three - Returning Home**

If Naruto had known what his mother and father had in store for him he would have probably escape as fast as he could from them, but unfortunately he didn't have a clue, and instead he stood by as they beat him into the ground with heavy training and learning.

On his seventh birthday, the aspiring ninja was gifted with a training harness. This harness was specially made by one of the many retired ninja in Horoyu. You see, when chakra was passed into the harness the bands that connected the separate pieces of the harness would become denser and heavier as well as tighten. The uses of this harness were multifaceted; it would train the body through both resistance and weight training, as well as helping a user train his chakra control and molding.

You see, if a user wasn't careful with how much chakra he place into the harness or how he molded that chakra, he would cause the harness to become too heavy. Also all the bands in the harness would tighten, usually leading to a user being 'balled up' and taking a really painful trip to the ground.

Another aspect of the harness that both parents never brought up with their son, was the knowledge that when enough chakra flowed through the bands they would become as hard as metal and would even act as a sort of pseudo armor.

Remembering Naruto attempts to use the harness, Rin could only shake her head at the amount of times that she had to heal a bruised bone, pulled muscle or sprained ankle. Surprisingly though, Naruto became quiet adapt at using the harness after several hundred failed attempts and a couple of weeks of training. Minor chakra exhaustion was something the blonde got use to during his training with the harness

* * *

When he accomplished the feat of overcoming the harness his father then introduced him to training exercises that were meant to develop and train his already growing chakra capacity and control.

The first of these exercises was the 'chakra padding' exercise, an exercise that called for a ninja to pad their fall or an impact with a cushion of controlled chakra. It was unbelievably hard for the young blonde to do at first, especially when he was wearing his weights, and had to not only concentrate on keeping a constant flow running through his harness but also create the cushion that was needed for the technique. It was no surprise to his father when he couldn't so much as 'pad' a light fall.

The second exercise was one of Naruto's favorites. Aptly named by his father as the "wetless" technique, it was an exercise that was almost on par with 'water walking', except...instead of standing on the water it involved repelling water from the body. Just like the padding exercise, Naruto had a hard time getting use to both unconsciously using his harness and performing the exercise. After several days of working on it the boy was able to sink his hand into the water of the lake without it getting wet, after which his father declared the next step of the exercise...to keep is entire body 'wetless' while swimming.

Finally, the last exercise was a meditation exercise that dealt with focusing ones power and concentration...

* * *

Taking a leaf, Obito place it on his sons head and told him to envision the leaf in his head surrounded by a white background. Naruto then heard his father say, "Think of the leaf that your seeing in your mind as a representation of yourself. Can you see it?"

Naruto nodded once. "Good," nodded Obito as he continued on with his teaching, "now think of all the space that surrounds the leaf as unused chakra, can you do that?"

Again Naruto nodded, but more slowly this time. "Now," explained the black haired man sitting next to his son, "while concentrating on the leaf in your mind I want you to try and gather that unused chakra towards the leaf."

Naruto frowned as he tried what his father was telling him, but was having a hard time doing it. "Don't try to mold chakra in reality, son. Do it in your mind." Obito encouraged softly while trying not to break his son's concentration.

Naruto relaxed as he again pictured the leaf and the white back ground only this time he picture clouds of blueish energy beginning to appear and swirl around the leaf, when suddenly a strange feeling over came him as some sort of flaming crimson chakra began to mix with his chakra. Grimacing, Naruto watched as the crimson chakra overwhelmed the blue and began spinning so fast around the leaf that it seemed to be alive. Soon the leaf began to get burned by the chakra and before he knew it a demonic face appeared out of the chakra to devour the little leaf.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto screamed as he opened his eyes to see both his mother and father over him, worry clearly displayed on their faces.

"What happened Naruto-chan?" asked his mother as she looked him over to make sure he was alright physically.

Explaining what he saw, he noticed how both of them became very quiet before his father said, "He has a right to know, Rin."

"I still don't have to like it," said his mother as she turned away from the both of them, but what the man had noticed was that she had not said 'no'.

Turning to his adopted son, Obito looked the boy in the eyes as he told the tale of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and the Yondaime Hokage. Naruto looked on in wonder as his father told a wonderful story, but as he got to the end of the story Naruto began to realize that this was no fairy tale.

"The fourth knew that even if they did kill the great Kyuubi that its chakra would just disperse and reform later after it had time to rest. So the man did what he thought would be best for everyone in Konoha. Sacrificing his life, he sealed the great demon into a tiny child. One that he knew would grow up to be strong enough to contain the beast."

"Me?" asked Naruto with a bit of worry evident in his voice. When his father nodded his head, Naruto slumped as she asked, "Am _I_ a demon like the fox then?"

"No!" shouted both of his parents with such emotion that he was shocked out of his depressed mood. "Don't you ever think like that, do you hear me!" yelled his mother and she moved over to him to embrace him in a warm hug, "You're not a demon. You are Naruto and you are our son, and never let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Naruto sniffed lightly as his parents held him in their arms until they all decided to eat at the local tavern.

* * *

Rin was worried, no scratch that, she was hyperventilating. She and Obito had been training Naruto for the past three years and in that time the boy had made so much progress that it worried the both of them.

In the past year Naruto went from struggling with his exercises to trying to find new ways to challenge himself. He soon found exercises that even his own father had difficultly completing. One which he named "ice walking", where his father would use a bastardized Hyouton jutsu to coat a section of their training pond with a thick layer of ice as he went using his chakra to grip the ice as if it were a tree climbing exercise.

It was only the past year that Rin found that Naruto had a hindrance that was working against him with his chakra control. It was during a water walking exercise that Rin noticed that Naruto had trouble keeping the flow of chakra going to the bottom of his feet. So in the middle of his next attempt she walked to him and performed a powerful jutsu that would reveal how his chakra flowed in his system. She was startled to see that he was constantly battling the Kyuubi's foreign chakra and as such he wasn't able to attain his true potential. Not knowing what to do, she talked to Obito, and together they decided to do something about it.

Han, was an old man who lived on the edge of the village. He once worked as a seal specialist for Konoha village, but because of an accident he lost the movement in his left arm, because of that his production dropped and he was forced into early retirement. Now he usually frequented the shogi parlor while talking to Naruto about his past and his many accomplishments as well as teaching the boy about seals and the like.

When the man enter the house and noticed the serious atmosphere he frowned slightly, but he sat down and listened to both of Naruto's parents as he was told a story that even he was having a hard time digesting the implications.

Rin looked worried and so did Obito, though he was more worried if about what he might do to the man if the old buzzard tried to blackmail them. Looked at the two young adults, Han smiled as he said with a wave of his hand, "Relax, who's going to believe a 'crazy old fool' like me."

After that both Obito and Rin became more comfortable around the man, as he and they began discussing about how to reinforce the seal. After some talk the three came up with a plan that involved some very interesting maneuvering on their part. Han had been surprised, as was Obito when Rin revealed a seal system and asked if she could integrate it into the one that they had already discussed.

Han looked the seal over and let out a whistle of appreciation, "This must have take a couple of years to make. Am I right?" Rin nodded, as old Han smiled and said, "I'll see what I can do."

The day came to put the seal to use, but before they went through with it Han asked both parents for a favor. At first they were again worried that the man would ask for something that could afford, or that they wouldn't give him, but instead the man said, "I want to see more if Naruto around the game parlor. Things have become _dead_ around there and everyone's complaining that they haven't seen Naruto in long while. Besides, we old men still have some unfinished scores to settle with the young whippersnapper."

"It's not my fault that you guys are all so pathetic," grinned the little kid from his place in the middle of a great seal.

"Shut it you!" said Han as he waved a fist menacingly at the smiling boy on the ground when he then turned around expectantly to Naruto's parents. When they nodded their approval the old man pumped his fist once as he turned around and said, "You are going to be crying like a newborn when I mop the floor with the new moves that I learned."

"Keep dreaming, oyaji" said the blonde haired boy while the man smiled a toothless smile and completed his jutsu causing the hundreds of black symbols on the floor to suddenly embed themselves on to Naruto's exposed stomach. Rin and Obito watched as the seal that the Yondaime made was surrounded by yet another seal, this seal was a complete circle that surrounded the Yondaime's seal and had two points sticking out of it along the chakra median.

"So," croaked Naruto, sucking in a breath as he body felt as if he had going through several days of training, "What does this seal do exactly?"

Han sat on the ground panting slightly from the exertion as he explained, "The original seal that the Yondaime made works to convert the demonic chakra of the Kyuubi into chakra that you can use, and it also works as a barrier between your mind and the demons. However, not even he could gauge the amount of chakra that the Kyuubi had nor the properties of that chakra. So the seal was only functioning at half of its potential."

Wiping his brow, Han took a swig of the cold water that Rin brought him before continuing, "This seal, that your mother and I created, acts to further purify and convert the demon's chakra to useable chakra. It also acts as a regulator, which will help you to regulate the amount of mixed chakra so that the "flow" of chakra in your body will never be disturbed."

"Last, but not least, your mother made a very unique seal that inhibits the 'over stimulation of cell division', which denies the Kyuubi access to 'forced regeneration' unless in dire situations. Instead it forces the demonic chakra into using something that you mother calls 'cell regression and activation' in which you will still heal, at a higher cost of demonic chakra. I, of course, have no idea what all that means, but...eh," said the little man as he shrugged his shoulders and smile at Rin.

"Wow, that amazing!" said Naruto as he stared down at his stomach.

"I knew you would come around to seeing my genius! Oh, by the way, you better thank your mom. That one seal must have taken a while to create, she must really like you...though I don't know why..." said the man while scratching his beard with a smirk.

"It must be my wonderful personality and uncanny ability to make grown men like you cry," said Naruto with a wink at his mom.

"I am so going to wipe the floor with you brat!" said the old man with happiness in his eyes at the prospect of getting his gaming partner back.

* * *

It was after that day that Naruto's potential knew now bounds. The results of the new seal made themselves known instantly, since many of the exercises he and his father were working on became easier over night. Rin also noticed that her lessons in medical jutsu started to become fasted paced as his chakra control became better and better.

Obito soon began to teach his son some taijutsu, in the hopes that it would slow him down a bit. This giant leap in progress was also in conjunction with the others of the village, all who seemed eager to train him every now and again.

Yume-obasan seeing his sudden proficency in using, identification, and escape of most basic genjutsu, cried with tears of joy as she began spout out new regiments and techniques that she wanted him to learn. Of course, she was attributing his performance to her wonderful teaching, but Naruto never corrected her as he instead encouraged her behavior by back up her claims every so often.

Han and the men at the parlor were once again happy to have their playing partner back every Tuesday. However, as the third year of hard training had come to an end, both Rin and Obito were pondering if they should open the small box, that was hidden in a secret closet, that was labeled "Naruto".

* * *

As the fourth year started, Obito finally decided on something after he saw his son's tremendous advancement in his clan's fighting style.

After sparing with his father, Naruto was called into the sitting room by his parents. When the boy entered the room he automatically noticed the box that sat on the table and was instantly curious. Sitting down he watched his father grab the box and place it in front of him. It was a ornate wooden box that looked to be quiet expensive as well as quite old. Embossed on the front of the box were swirling patterns while a golden plaque on the side read "Naruto", which made the boy sweat as he looked at both his mother and father with confused eyes.

"Don't worry son, open it," comforted Obito while Rin bit her finger nails.

Naruto undid the latch and slowly pushed back the cover revealing several scrolls and papers within the box. Removing the top paper Naruto read;

_My son,_

_I am sorry that I cannot be there to see you grow up through life to become the great and wonderful man that I know you will become. Unfortunately, life had decided that it is my time to leave this plane, but I do so protecting those who I've come to love and cherish. Never forget that, son. Those who you love and are important to you will make you strong in your darkest hour._

_I cannot apologized enough for the burden that I have left you with, but it is my hope that you will be strong enough to shoulder it and strive for a better life. In this box that I have left, you will find all the documents you will need to take over my estate and accounts in Konoha, most of which I have liquidated to preserve your identity._

_If you have a new father and mother I would hope that you would share it with them. I have also taken the liberty of transcribing most of my, and your mother's, techniques on the scrolls before you, most which have seals on them so they will not open until the appointed time, or until you can break the seal. Those that are already open should be useful to you._

_I don't know if you care to know what my name is, but I can tell you one thing. My clan name is synonymous with danger, and so for your protection I shall not tell you it until you are ready. However, if you want to know my first name...it is Minato._

_My son, grow up and become a great man._

_Minato_

"His name was Minato," said Naruto as he smiled lightly and both his parents looked at him with wide eyes. "He says that he doesn't want his enemies to know who I am that's why he has only told me his proper name," said Naruto softly.

"The man had many enemies," Obito said quietly while noticing how the room had taken on a solemn atmosphere.

Naruto sifted through the papers and handed them to his parents saying, "He says that these document are for almost all of his accounts." Rin looked through the papers briefly and saw that a pretty large sum of money and land was connected to these papers.

"And lastly, he says that these scrolls are all the techniques that he and my mother knew. Most of them are sealed though, but he said that those that are opened will help me greatly." Naruto told them as he pulled out several scrolls whose seals had broken already. Opening the first one that he thought looked like a good choice he read, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu"

"What!? What is he thinking..." croaked Obito as he looked over his sons shoulder at what looked like a replica of the kinjutsu that was sealed away in the Forbidden Scroll.

Naruto smiled when he read the description of the jutsu, and based on his father reaction to it the jutsu, he definitely wanted to learn this technique. However, night time was quickly approaching and Rin decided for Naruto that it would be better for him to get a good night's rest before learning a new jutsu.

Grudgingly he a complied to his mothers wishes, but he made sure to take his box to his room where he would keep everything safely put away until tomorrow.

* * *

The year had come and gone and Naruto's training had seem to take on a life of its own. Still challenging himself Naruto pushed himself as hard as he could to learn the jutsu that were in the scrolls given to him.

Obito watched as his son struggled to use the techniques in the scrolls, but if there was one thing that he knew about his son...it was that the boy had a powerful will to 'never give up' on something once he started it. It was because of that will that the boy had learned the Kage Bushin no Jutsu in just one night, an accomplishment that surprised both his parents.

However, as time passed both Obito and Rin couldn't ignore the presence of the Konoha ninjas that showed up or their frequency. On Naruto's eleventh birthday they received another visit from Kakashi, who now told them that they could not ignore his request.

"Fine," said Obito looking down at his balled up hands that were set in his lap.

"What?" asked both Rin and Kakashi in surprise.

"I said, fine," repeated Obito as he placed both his hands behind his head and sighed loudly, "I'm tired of dealing with the shinobi messengers, besides they've been bothering others in the village."

"So you'll come back?" asked Kakashi as his eye narrowed suspiciously.

"Yes...but," it was that one word that had Kakashi on edge, "I still want my status as a retired ninja. Also, tell those pompous windbags that there is no Uchiha Obito. He was excommunicated by his clan, and banished from the compound. As such, I have no obligation to that clan or any surviving members, understood?"

Kakashi sighed as he looked at the floor and told his friend truthfully, "I don't know if that will go over well with the Council, but I'll try my best."

"As long as they know my demands I don't care what they think," Obito said softly, as Rin sat next to him now knowing how he felt about on these issues, and she supporting her husbands feelings about the Council and certain people.

"Fine," Kakashi said with a final nod, as he then perked up by saying, "When can I be expecting you?"

"Do you miss us, old man?" asked Obito with a grin that made Rin shake her head. It was as if the two of them regressed every time they were around each other for more than a couple of seconds.

"Now that you mention it...yes, I do." said Kakashi without batting his one eye.

"Um...uh...well...good! That's what I thought!" stuttered Obito as he didn't expect his friend to tell him that he missed the two of them.

"We'll be back at the beginning of next year," said Rin as Kakashi again nodded his head silently before he said his good-byes.

As Kakashi walked out of the room he saw the young boy going through some weapon training, but noticed that none of the targets had been marred much or the edges of the weapons that he were using weren't dull. '_He was listening in_,' thought Kakashi as he smirked and wondered just what kind of ninja was Obito raising under their noses.

* * *

It was December and a cold wind seemed to blow through the village as Obito and his family said their good-byes to all of the people of Horoyu. All the men at the parlor pitched in and bought Naruto a traveling go board of his own. Other people gave him jutsu scrolls telling him that he better use their combined knowledge to become a great shinobi. Naruto's tears at having such a great family made sure there was not a dry eye in the crowd.

Rin made sure to leave instructions on how to run the shop as she divided the shop among everyone in the village. As they passed the gates of the village and began walking the road to Konoha, both Rin and Obito could feel a slight tug on their hearts as they wondered if this was really 'the right thing to do'.


	5. Explanations

**Author's Notes: **Please remember tell me about any errors that I might be making. Thankk you, bye.

* * *

**Chapter Four - Explanations**

It had taken a lot longer to get back to Konoha than leaving it, but that was because the bundle that they were carrying last time wasn't asking to stop at every place on their way so that he could take in the sights and sounds that he was now experiencing.

Stopping a grand total of twelve times on their journey the family were just now beginning to seeing the large gates in the distance. Naruto smiled up at his father, and even though he felt like scowling the ex-Uchiha sent back a happy grin at his son.

Looking at the gate in the distance he knew what he and his family were about to face, the same political pressure and and expectations that his mother, father and brother were subject to. Deep down just knowing that made him resentful of Konoha and its people.

Luckily, he had Rin and Naruto to calm his already agitated mood. The two kept his mind off of those thoughts as they bantered lightly and Naruto asked him about his time as a gennin.

"Do you think there will be a lot of kids?" asked the little boy, excitement brimming in his voice at the prospect of being able to play with children his age.

Chuckling lightly while ruffling his son's head, the young father said confidently, "I should think so. After all, Konoha is one of the largest hidden villages on the continent." Naruto smile happily at his father answer as he yet again thought of talking and playing with kids his age.

Rin smiled as she remember their first stop, and how the little blonde had confided in her all the fears he had of meeting other children. It was simple really, he was afraid that he wouldn't fit in because he was not use to talking to anyone other than old people. Time and time again when travelers with children had pass through Horoyu, he had a hard time connecting with the kids and was often made fun of because he acted like an adult.

Feeling for her son, since she too had an odd upbringing, she gave him the only advice that only a mother could give.

"_...treat making friends like leaning a new jutsu," stated Naruto's mother, holding in her giggles when the boy tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusion. "Do you give up on the first time a jutsu doesn't work for you?" asked Rin watching her son slowly shook his head from side to side, "Then apply that attitude to making new friends, and never give up."_

Seeing her son with his new attitude and eager to meet some of the Konoha children. Rin couldn't help but forget about all the other feeling that she had been dealing with along the journey.

* * *

In no time the three were standing before the gargantuan green gates of Konoha, while the sun beaming over head and a crisp wind blew through the surrounding forest. Naruto stood by his father's side as he watched a ninja appear and walk over to them while asking what their names were and what business did they have in Konoha.

Naruto's adopted father was a bit livid that the old man hadn't given the gate guards the information that they were going to coming. Pulling out his old hitai-ate, Obito said shortly, "Horoyu no Obito, we were summoned by the Hokage himself."

"Huh? Really?" the man asked as if in genuine shock. Mumbling to himself he began checking through his papers, but it seemed like a waste of time. "Hold on, I'm going to check with my supervisor," said the man as he disappeared.

When he was gone both of Naruto's parents gave each other a look before they both laughed, "New guy."

While the pair was laughing another ninja appeared in front of the family. He was a young man and he wore his hitai-ate on his shoulder while calmly sucking on a tooth pick. "Obito-san. Rin," the man greeted as he gave a slight nod to the brunette only to receive a mirrored response from Rin, "Sandiame-sama has been expecting you for sometime now. I was ordered to escort you to him upon your arrival."

"Follow me," said the man walking through the gate and down the main road of Konoha. Naruto and his parent fell in behind the man as they began their trek to the Hokage's building.

A quarter way through their walk the man, who had identified himself as Kake, spoke up, "So...Rin-sempai I see you've been with Obito-san all this time, huh."

"Yes, Kake. We got married and had settled down," Rin explained while Obito gave both of them a confused look. "Kake had been training to become a iryo-nin when I was teaching at the hospital," explained the woman as she smiled at the memories, "and through his technique was excellent his study habits were less than acceptable."

Obito chuckled at his wives evaluation. Kake, however, wasn't as receptive to Obito's reaction, his eyes narrowing in anger, "Obito, huh? You wouldn't happen to be the disgrace that got kicked out of his own clan, would you? Boy, Rin-sempai you really know how to pick them. My condolences, of course."

Obito's chuckle stopped midway through as he pinned a glare on the man, but he never retorted and neither did Rin. However, that didn't stop a certain little blonde haired boy from speaking his mind. "You better take that back!" Naruto growled in anger as he glared daggers at the ninja that had made fun of his father and mother, "Don't go spouting crap you know nothing about!"

The shinobi huffed in disdain at the Naruto's outburst before completely ignoring him. "Father?" asked the ninja in a voice filled with puzzelment while comparing both parents to the boy. "You look nothing like them, kid," observed the ninja, "What? Did you two pick up a straggler along the way, or something? No one said anything about a son."

"He's adopted," Rin answered in a clipped manner before calming her son who was glaring daggers at the cocky ninja, "but we love him all the same,"

Obito, however, was a completely different case altogether. Dark obsidian orbs grew cold as he gave the insulting ninja a look that could only be described as a 'thousand yard stare'. "Insults don't bother me much," said the ex-Uchiha while moving within the shinobi's personal space and staring the man down, "but you're going to refrain from insulting my family, or..."

Kake, a trained chuunin, was completely caught off guard when he felt the raven haired man's ki* flare for a fraction of a second, ans it was within that fraction of a second that he envisioned the man in front of him slitting his throat. Gulping nervously, grabbing his throat, and nodding once, the ninja quickly shut his mouth and instead returned to guiding them to the Hokage's building.

After the minor misunderstanding the group walked in silence for another couple of minutes. While they walked, Naruto – who had already forgotten about the incident between his parents and the ninja – was now looking to an fro trying to take in all the splendors that the village of Konoha had to offer.

Passing a small park, Naruto attention was drawn to a large group of children laughing and playing tag on one of the open fields. Mesmerized at the sheer size of the group of kids he found himself itching to join in their fun. However, he was reminded that he had to stay with his family until they got settled in.

A small frown crept over the boys face as he felt his mother tugging him lightly away from the park, "You will have plenty of time to do that later, come on."

Knowing that his mother was right, Naruto fell back instep with his father as their guide led them to the front of a large building. A large sign that hung on the buildings front had the kanji for 'fire' and sitting on the steps was the same silver haired man who would always visit his mother and father. Currently, it looked as if he were waiting for someone as he relaxed on the stairs leading into the building while reading an orange book and chuckled every now and again.

"Hmm, its about time you three got here," silver haired man stated without looking up from his book.

Obito eyebrow twitched in annoyance before folding his arms and saying loudly, "This coming from the king of late is something, is it not?"

Ignoring his friend, Kakashi turned his attention to the ninja that had guided them to the building. Noticing the man's quiet repose he snapped his book shut gaining the chuunin's attention, "I'll take it from here, Kake. Return to your post and be sure to write up your report for this little excursion." The young man nodded his head as he used a shunshin to disappear in a cloud of swept up dust.

With the man gone, Kakashi eyes his friend and asked, "What happened between you and Kake?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Obito responded defensively.

Shaking his head and pocketing his book, Kakashi slowly opened the door to the building with one hand while urging them to enter with the other, "Kake is a chatter box and a bit of a social butterfly. For him to be as tight lipped as he was back there something must have happened."

Obito shurgged his shoulders, "He disrespected my family, so I gave him a warning."

"Warning, huh? Kakashi repeated not believing a word that came from his friends mouth. Looking over at Rin he could see that she was one hundred percent behind her husbands words. "Well...whatever, its none of my business. Just try to keep these so-called 'warnings' to a minimum."

"Sure," replied the retired ninja, placing his hands behind his head while managing to sound insincere about the whole incident. Seeing that everyone was giving him a skeptical look, he changed the subject by apologizing for their lateness.

"Its no problem for me or the Hokage, but..." Kakashi said as they were now traversing an outdoor stairway that lead to the higher floors, while his uncovered eye drift to a specific room on the upper floors that housed the advisers offices.

Rin understood the significance of the look as she allowed a sigh to escape her body. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the Sandaime Hokages ex-teammates, were the Hokage's advisers. The two old battle harden shinobi were often a source of experience that the Hokage could rely on in a pinch, but they were also a headache that often presented itself in the most inopportune times.

Now knowing that time was of the essence both parents and child followed the silver haired man quietly and quickly through the hallways, until they finally stood before a set of guarded doors. Two men wearing black cloaks and bearing masks that mimicked animals eyed the approaching group.

Identifying themselves to the guards, the silent mask wearing ninja nodded in affirmation while he opened the door to the room, "He's been waiting for you, step inside."

Walking pass the door frame, Naruto spied a large oak desk located near the picture windows of the room, Resting on the desk was a small mountain of paperwork and folders. Looking around the room he saw a side room sectioned off by several grass screens which held several comfortable looking chairs, a small couch and a table. The walls of that said room were bare except for several lined up portraits which seemed to have significant importance in that room.

When, Naruto finished eying the room he glace back at the desk and was surprised when he saw a small man, well...smaller than his father at least, standing quietly by the window. If he hand shift his position to get a better look into the next room he would have never saw the man behind all the papers on the desk.

The man wore white robes and a large, uniquely shaped kasa* that has red coloring on the front and back. At the moment the stranger seemed to be thinking about something as he stared out at the city below while smoking his pipe. Pulling out his pipe the man, who was known to most as the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha and to a few as Sarutobi Hiruzen, sighed once and spoke up, "Its late, I was expecting you to get here sooner."

"My apologies, Hokage-sama," Rin said as she bow slightly, "but we were not traveling alone."

The old man's eyebrow hitched up in curiosity at that statement. Turning around he was both shocked and surprised to see a small child using one of his retired ninja as a shield from him. And why shouldn't the child be hiding? The Sandaime Hokage had used his most commanding voice to display his anger at the lateness of this meeting. Slowly the man's stern face melted as he watched Rin slowly pry the child from behind Obito's legs.

If he had been expecting a black haired girl or boy, all that went out the window as Rin finally got the boy to show himself. '_A ghost_,' thought the Sandaime, his throat growing tight with emotion as the little boy came out from behind his fathers legs and gave him a slight bow.

Sandaime stared at Naruto in shock, and for a moment the man thought that he was in a cruel genjutsu. As time passed, however, he realized that this was reality and standing before him was a child that bore an uncanny resemblance to a man that he knew was dead and passed away.

Naruto, and the others within the room, watched a myriad of emotions pass over the old man's face as he stared at him. Not knowing what to do, and seeing that his mother had made sure to cut off any route of escape the boy did what came naturally. Scratching the back of his head the child smiled nervously and waited for the old man to say something.

Sensing the boy's nervousness, Sarutobi looked away as a sadness of sorts seemed to fill his eyes. "You did not tell me you had a child," Sarutobi commented, while fishing in his pocket and pulling out a piece of candy which he offered to Naruto silently.

"We adopted him the year we left," Rin responded, smiling when Naruto walked over to the Hokage and took the candy, the previous event forgotten.

"Really," Sarutobi hummed to himself as the wheels in his head turned. Gazing at the boy it was then that he notice the three distinct whisker markings on his little cheeks. "Though I have to say, he's almost the spitting image of..."

It was those words that broke Naruto's attention away from his sweet treat as he waited for the old man to finish that sentence, but he would be waiting in vain as his father cleared his throat and managed to interrupt the village leader, "He isn't, he's my son."

Nodding once, and smiling down at the little blonde, he asked, "So what's you name?"

"Naruto," said the blue eyed child with a smile before asking innocently, "What's yours, jiji?"

Kakashi gave a sharp stare at Obito as if to say "haven't you taught him any manners", but when he saw his frind shaking from desperately not trying to laugh he instead decided to stay silent. Sarutobi, however, was not as lucky or as prepared for the child's innocent question, and so he chuckled loudly. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder while covering his chest with the other one he answered the child, "I am Sandaime Hokage, Naruto-kun. However, my friends know me as Sarutobi. _You_ may call me Sandaime, okay?"

The little boy twisted his features as he thought about it, before nodding his head and smiling, "Sure thing Sandaime-ji!"

Of course this only served to make the old man laugh, especially when he realized that the little boy had adopted him as a grandpa without even him knowing it. Calming down Sarutobi gave the boy one last look as a mental image of another boy, one with the same grin and infectious personality, seemed to superimpose over the child. Blinking once and shaking his head, the elderly man chased away those thoughts as he finally began to focus of the others in the room.

Seeing that both parents had relaxed from their previous defensiveness, the man gestured them to follow him into the side room. "I'm guessing that you have come to your own conclusions as to why I have summoned you here," said the old shinobi.

"The remaining Uchiha child?" Rin offered trying to squeeze some information from the converstaion as well as confirming both her and her husband's thoughts.

"That is _their_ agenda," Sarutobi spat softly in a tone filled with disdain. Obito's brow furrowed in confusion as he gave his friend a pointed look, but was stopped when he saw that even Kakashi was giving off a confused aura, and was completely ignoring him in order to catch everything the old man was talking about, made him become aware that this trip might have been for a completely different reason.

"What do you know of the Rice Field Country?" asked Sandaime, which had all three ninja before him giving him puzzling looks.

"No much," Obito stated first as he accessed some of the memories of his hunting trip, "From what I've heard from other hunters a new hidden village has been formed there, and..."

"And?" sandaime asked seeing that the black haired man seemed to be deciding whether or not the new bit of information was worthy of telling or not.

"Well...some of the hunters told stories and most of them agree on one thing," Obito explained as he shifted himself into a comfortable postion, " and it was that those ninja from that country were not human."

"Not human," asked Kakashi looking over at Obito, "what did they mean?"

"I don't really know. All they would say was that some of the ninja were demons in human skin." seeing his son look up in shock, the man ruffled the boys head affectionately while saying for his sake, "But those are only for the ninja of that country."

"Hmmm..." the old man was caught up in thought for a short time, before he spoke again, "Demons, huh? Then I guess it would help to know that some of our spies have found evidence of Orochimaru residing within the Rice Field country."

"Orochimaru!?" the three all simultaneously said with matching angry tones. Naruto, who was watching the adults, could only wondered what this was all about. And so using the techniques that he had learned during his time at the gaming parlor he kept his ears open and patiently waited for something to happen. Silently, the blonde thanked all the old men at the parlor back home for literally beating patience into him.

"We can't really confirm it but just the fact that the new hidden village has become more hostile might be evidence of Orochimaru's involvement with the new hidden village," explained Sandaime as he let again took a puff of his pipe creating a small orange glow in the as he then released a small stream of white smoke, "And now that you have come with information about "demons in men skins", I am almost sure those are the result of that madman's experiments."

"Wait...but why involve us," asked Rin as Obito had become silent and thoughtful.

"Because of this," pulling out a small folded document that looked to be splattered with dried blood from his robe pocket the old man handed it over to Rin.

Reading the paper the woman's eyes grew big and her face became serious, and before long she passed the document to her husband while whispering , "Obito, look."

Taking the abused document and looked down the at the spot where she had pointed, there in the middle of the page was an order to capture him from the town of Horoyu. There was even an order to capture any family that he might have as well.

"What the hell!" yelled Obito as he saw the order and read it through.

"If you read lower on the page there is a duplicate order to capture one Uchiha Sasuke as well," added the Sandaime.

"The Sharingan," Kakashi mumbled in understanding, "whoever sent out this order wants the last remaining survivors of the Uchiha clan and their bloodline limit."

"Exactly," said the old man as Obito was running his finger through his hair as the thoughts of some ninja capturing his family. Anger sparked in his eyes, but he kept a passive face as he asked, "Is that the only reason that you wanted me and Rin to come back?"

The room became silent for a moment before the Hokage answered, "No...there is another reason that I wanted you to come back." The old man sighed as he stood up and walked over to the window where he looked out at the village below, "I have a feeling...call it an ominous premonition...that Konoha will run into trouble in the future." Taking a deep drag of his pipe the Sandaime exhaled a billowing cloud of smoke befor using the reflection of the window in front of him to look at the two retired ninja, "Trouble that cannot be easily remedied or fixed."

"So your calling us in to bolster Konoha, just encase that this 'trouble' just happens to be more than just a feeling, right?" confirmed Obito his eyes glaring down at the document in his hands.

"That and the fact that it will be infinitely harder for a ninja to spirit you away from Konoha rather than a small town in the middle of no where," said the Sandaime as he gave them his undivided attention.

Understanding the situation Obito nodded his head and Rin waited to see what her husband would decide. "Fine," the ex-Uchiha said grumpily before adding, "but I still want my retired status, and all the privileges that come with it."

Having already counted on that being Obito's stance, the aging Hokage turned to the man's wife and asked "And what about you, Rin? Can we count on your expertise in drugs and medical training?"

"Yes, but I only want to be reinstated as a staff member in the hospital. That means no missions outside the village," Rin answered with excitement, knowing that she was going to be once again helping people.

"Fine, then..." Sarutobi hadn't gotten a sentence out when the door to the Hokage's office rattled as a stern voice call out from behind it.

"Sarutobi-san! Sarutobi-san I know you're in there! Open up!" barked the loud and demanding voice of Utatane Koharu.

Everyone in the room, except Naruto, sighed deeply as they knew what was about to happen. Opening the door revealed an elderly woman with squinty eyes, tight bun hairdo and a deep frown. Behind her stood an bearded old man who wore glasses and he too was mimicking his partner's frown.

The pair entered and their eyes swept the room taking in each of the people that were present. However, when Koharu's eyes fell on Obito her eyes widened for a second before narrowing in anger while her mouth transformed into a severe scowl. "Why were we not informed of Uchiha Obito's return, Hokage-sama?" asked the woman as she glared daggers at her former teammate.

"I do not see the pertinence of informing the Hokage's advisers of a retired ninja returning to their village. Are you suggesting that I _need_ to run all information that I receive through my advisers before making a decision, Koharu?" asked the Hokage, knowing full well that it was a loaded question.

"No, of course not," stated the elderly woman as she calmed herself and, "I am merely concerned that we as an organization are not better prepared for this event."

"Event?"

"The returning of another Uchiha to Konoha," clarified Homura as he adjusted his small black glasses on his face.

"Oh?" Obito said as he stood up and slowly made his way over to the two advisers, "Pray tell? What Uchiha are you talking about? I hope its Uchiha Itachi, cause there are no other Uchiha's left in this world, other than him and his brother. Or did you forget about what happened after all this time..."

...I haven't," growled the raven haired man.

Naruto had never seen his father with such fury in his eyes, but then again he never did hear anything about his family or clan while they were living in Horoyu. The blonde watched as both advisers seemed to deflate before the man's fury. Sending a look that seemed to carry the message "do something" at the Hokage, the advisers were thrown off balance when the man stated, "He has retire-nin status. I can't legally make him do anything that he doesn't want to already do."

Both advisers digested that information before Homura bowed slightly and said, "Well then, excuse us. We will not take up anymore of your time." Koharu also bowed, but her face was livid with anger at her argument being snuffed in such a manner. "Hokage-sama, I expect we will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the contents of this meeting?" Homura said in such a way that it sounded like a request but felt more like a command.

"Sure," said the tired Hokage as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The closed quietly, and the occupants of the room all let out a held breath. Feeling extemely tired, Obito turned his head and noticed Naruto staring at everyone with a strange look in his eyes. '_Damn_,' thought the father as he frowned slightly, but quickly placed a neutral expression on his face as he signaled his son over to his side, '_he witnessed everything_.'

"Hokage-sama?" asked Obito quietly, "Know of anywhere we could stay for the night?"

"Yes, I might know the perfect place. In fact, I'll walk you there. It'll give me an excuse to get out of this stuffy office," said Sarutobi as he moved around the desk and put on his Hokage hat.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as the five of them walked out of the main building and moved through town. While they strolled towards their destination Sarutobi begun to ask the couple about their lives in Horoyu. He seemed to enjoy hearing about their time spent with in the retire ninja community, but he also seemed to have a unnaturally curiosity about the little blonde boy that was having a blast walking with his parents through the streets of Konoha.

Reaching their destination, Obito threw a dirty look at Sarutobi. The house that they had walked up to was beautiful, but the only little problem – a big problem in Obito case – was that opposite the house, no more than a block away, were a set of gates that had what Naruto called 'a two colored lollipop' symbol on them.

"You old conniving, manipulating, low down, scheming..." grumbled Obito before he yelled loudly, "you planned this didn't you!"

The Sandaime's face was impassive as he then looked confused for a moment while saying, "I don't understand? Is this house not good enough?" Naruto's cry of happiness broke the moment as he came running up to his father to tell him all about the interesting things that were in the house. Rin giggled at Obito's look of defeat when his son said that 'he loved the house' and asked if they could keep it.

Naruto's father sighed as he shook his head in exasperation. "I hate politics," he said while heatedly glaring at the conniving old man in front of him.

The man in turn nodded his head in agreement while a smile covered his face, "Yes, nasty stuff."

After some time standing outside of the house and glaring a hole through Konoha's aging leader, the raven hair man asked in a quiet voice, "Sandaime-sama?"

"Hm?"

"If we are going to be staying here...do you think my son can be placed into the academy with a class that is about his age?"

"I don't know," said the Hokage rubbing his chin and gazing at Obito while he trying to read the play of emotions that would sweep across the fathers face, "is he any good?"

Obito laughed at the question and completely ignored it as he asked, "Can you do it?" This made the Hokage raise his eyebrow as he stared back at the house and wondered just how good this boy could be.

"How's tomorrow sound?" asked Sandaime.

"Tomorrow's just fine," answered Obito as he gave one last look at the Uchiha compound entrance and frowned before turning around and walking over to the rather nice house where he could hear his son laughing with his mother.

Sandaime stared at Obito's back until he disappeared into the house, and when he was gone from sight he rembered the conversation he had with the couple as they walked down the street...

"_Will you be registering as Ishikawa?"_

"_Uzumaki," Rin supplied not paying attention to the stare the Hokage sent her way._

"_Uzumaki? Is there a particular reason why you'd be using that clan name?" Sarutobi asked as a memory of a red haired woman with a fiery temper and beautiful smile came unbidden into his mind._

"_My clan's name is unusable," Obito mumbled._

"_I was disowned as soon as I left Konoha," the brunette said as she tugged lightly at a lock of her hair. "On our way back we thought that taking Kushina-san's name would be easier than trying to register under either of our clans."_

_The old man pulled lightly at his beard as he thought about the couples choice. It was true that clans were often very finicky when it came to bringing outsiders into their fold. He also knew since the legendary Uchiha clan only had two members left – three if you counted an excommunicated member – no one would be able to take the Uchiha name until the last legitimate successor came of age. _

"_Uzumaki, huh?" the old man said quietly while testing the name, his eye resting on the little blonde as he was talking non-stop to Kakashi a smile adoring his face. "It sounds like a good name," commented Sarutobi before turning to the couple and adding in a more serious tone of voice, "All the information that was learned in my office is classified as an S-class secret. Make sure your son knows that too, I wouldn't want any of that information leaked."_

"_Understood," the couple replied._

"_No problem," a small voice chirped from next to them. The three were startled by the voice, but when they found its source and discovered Naruto smiling back at them they all relaxed visibly._

Walking back to his office, Sarutobi seemed to smile easier when he remembered the little boy that resembled the young Namikaze but had the personality of the fiery Kushina. Something about the little boy had him feeling a bit more optimistic for the future. '_Uzumaki...Naruto...I definitely want to see what he'll grow up to be like_."


	6. First Day of Ninja Academy

**Author's Notes: **I really hate editing...ah well, it can't be helped. Anyway, remember to tell me about any errors you find. I've turned on my PM for that reason alone.

* * *

**Chapter Five - First Day of Ninja Academy**

The morning sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon its presence only detected by the purple tint that the horizon had begun to take on. At this god forsaken hour of the morning one person in the Uzumaki house hold was grumbling to himself as his internal clock awoke him from a peaceful dream. Pulling himself from his warm and comfortable bed, he stumbled around his new room while trying to find his clothes. His old training harness creaked with every move of his body, he had gotten so use to wearing the contraption that he usually left it on...even when he went to sleep.

Finding his way to the bathroom he turning on the faucet and splashed some water in his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Pouring a small glass of water he used half to wash out the taste in his mouth while brushing his teeth and the other half was drunk down to remove the dryness from his throat.

Making his way to the kitchen, he rummaged through his families new refrigerator and found a small bottle of water. Sliding the bottle into his new ninja hip pack he walked out the front door.

Cool air nipped at Naruto' skin making him shiver a bit, but with some light stretching and a bit of chakra molding his body was warmed up and ready to do some light callisthenics. Formign the ram seal Naruto conjured up some chakra, which he quickly poured into his harness. Feeling his harness become heavier and tighter he made sure to tweak it so that it was "just a bit" heavier and tighter than the last time. Lifting his legs and stretching his limbs the young boy nodded his head and began jogging down the empty and abandoned streets of the village.

Today's practice wasn't just about training his muscles. No, today Naruto was going to check out his new village and make a mental map of the surrounding area.

Passing several street, which he recognized as market streets, he turned a corner and discovered a small outdoor restaurant. Jogging down another street that was filled with shops and the like, he took a sharp left and ended up at a small park that had all the equipment for kids to play with.

Smiling exuberantly he ran over to a slide, making sure to reduce his harnesses weight, he jumped to the top of the slide easily and slid down with laugh that matched his smile. After playing like this for a couple of minutes, the blonde got back to training as his harness got heavier and he doubled back to the street that he had been jogging down.

Finishing his jog and now cooling off with a stroll, Naruto had to say that the area he had surveyed was very interesting. He almost couldn't wait for the sun rise and the people of the village to wake. In fact, he knew of a couple of places that he was going to visit when the day started.

Surprisingly enough, on his way back to his house he discovered the Academy. Over laying his memories of the streets that he had just ran, he plotted a quick route from his house to the building. Just as he was about to head on back to his house a strange sound echoed in his ears.

Stopping his movement and concentrating on the sound, Naruto tilted his head as he began tracking the noise and its location. The noise, which Naruto described as 'a crazed lumberjack chopping wood with a bat,' was emanating from a grove of trees and bushes that were on the Academy grounds.

Walking silently towards the grove, Naruto hear a count being called out as it coincided with the sounds that were coming from the trees. "100...101...102...103...104," counted a panting voice as the sound of wood being beaten on by something dull echoed in the area.

Naruto moved through the bushes, making sure to make as much noise as possible in order to warn whoever was there that he was coming through. When he finally made it out of the bushes, he was surprised to see someone his age standing in front of a large wooden stump driving his fists into the wood over and over. The stranger was focused on his task, and he seemed to be oblivious to everything around him...even Naruto's intrusion.

'_He must be pretty devoted to get up this early and train only in taijutsu_,' he told himself before the stranger stopped his punching and flicked his eye's in Naruto's direction.

"It is impolite to stare at people," the boy said politely, while Naruto had enough sense to looked ashamed.

"Sorry," he finally said, "I just don't know many who would get up this early to train." It was at this moment in time that Naruto noticed the just how strange this stranger appeared.

A green body suit covered him from head to toe. His haircut made it look like he was wearing a black bowl on his head, but what grabbed Naruto's attention even more was what sat just above the boys eyes. Two enormously, huge, fuzzy eyebrows, which did a perfect job of mimicking fat black catapillers, covered the strange boys brow as he now cocked on of them in confusion.

"Whoa," Naruto whispered in shock as he tried to look away, but that only served to make him stare harder at the fuzzy monstrosities.

The young stranger across from him blinked and then smiled as he looked around to see that it was indeed very early in the morning and he was 'indeed' talking to someone else during this time. "Ah! I see that the fires of youth also burning with you, don't they?" said the strange kid as he smiled happily.

"Um...yeah...whatever you said," Naruto replied not knowing what the heck he should do, this being is his first encounter with another child his age since he step foot into the village. Displaying his physical prowess the stranger disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto with a hand held out. Raising an blonde eyebrow, Naruto commented mentally, 'I _didn't feel any chakra gathering, so that means...'_

Giving the boy in front of him an appraising stare, he finished his thought, _'...that was all natural speed_.' Hearing the boy clear his throat and seeing him still extending his arm, Naruto blushed lightly as he grasped the boys hand.

"Rock Lee!" said Lee while applying a tremendous amount of force in his hand shake. Unknown to Naruto, Lee had also been evaluating the little blonde. From what he could tell, the boy in front of him was very well trained.

In his eyes, the blonde's gait was that of a taijutsu user. However, what made Lee even more interested in the blonde was the fact that even though Naruto had made noise as he move through the bushes their was no sign of a trail where the boy exited from. '_Only a train in certain kinds of stealth could produce such 'traceless' tracks_,' thought Rock as he wondered if the boy would rise to his bait.

Naruto felt the crushing force that the boy in front of him applied and also noticed that he was grinning like a fool through the whole interaction. Knowing this game, because he had seem so many adults playing at it, he smiled politely while refusing to increase the pressure he was applying with his hand, "Mine's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto."

Lee sighed when he realized that the boy was not about to fall for such shoddy bait. '_Gai-sensei! I have failed in my youthful attempt to gain a sparing partner_!' Lee cried out mentally as he began assigning himself some hair-brained punishment in the form of exercise. Meanwhile, he slowly loosened his grip while bowing deeply and saying. "Forgive me for squeezing your hand so tightly, Naruto-kun. "

"No problem, gejimayu," Naruto replied while nursing his abused hand. Lee's eye ticked slightly, but to his credit he didn't say anything. "So I guess I'll see you around, right?" asked the young Uzumaki before he was treated to the sight of the Lee's pearly whites and 'thumbs up' pose, "...riiiiight. See ya!"

Quickly dashing out of the grove he saw the clear signs that the sunrise was about to break over the horizon. Walking towards home, Naruto seemed to remember the disappointment that was etched onto Lee's face when he didn't fall into the 'hand gripping' contest, however no matter how disappointed the body suit wearing kid was he still remembered the words his father had told him during his training in Horoyu...

"_Strength is only a part of what makes up a shinobi." said the raven haired man as he demonstrated his physical prowess by going through several taijutsu attacks. "The same could be said for a ninja's jutsu and weapons," again he demonstrated these aspects by breathing out flames and piercing a tree with one of his kunai._

"_However, what truly defines a ninja from some chakra wielding warrior is..." it was at this point that the Obito that was talking transformed into nothing more than a pile of dirt. Naruto flinched slightly when he felt the cold kiss of steel resting against his throat while his fathers voice echoed in his small ear, "Deception, stealth, and the knowledge that there is a time and a place for everything. This is what separates our kind from any other warrior, and it is these aspects that you should always keep in mind."_

"_Remember, an underestimated shinobi is the most dangerous being on the face of this planet..."_

'_Sorry gejimayu_,' Naruto thought mentally while his house finally could be seen in the distance, '_it just wasn't the right time or place for that_.' Stopping in front of his house Naruto stretched once more before the front door opened and his father came out wearing a black kimono. Giving his son a warm smile he asked, "Morning training?"

Naruto nodded once before he began retelling everything that he had seen on his jog to his father. When he reached the part about the strange boy he encountered his father interrupted by scratching his cheek and saying, "Thick eyebrows, huh? I remember someone saying something about that, but I can't remember who it was that told me."

Before the raven haired man could remember, Rin call the both of them in to eat. "Ah well, it'll come to me sooner or later," said the ex-Uchiha as he reminded his son to washed up for breakfast.

* * *

Kissing his mom goodbye, Naruto, accompanied by his father, began his trek toward Konoha's ninja academy. On their journey the two talked about planning a training schedule that would fit around the boy's schooling. The conversation with his father was going smoothly, but something was nagging Naruto as they walked through the streets. When it finally became too much for him, Naruto whisper, "Hey, dad? Why are the people looking at us like that?"

"It's not us that they're looking at, son," sighed the ex-Uchiha in exasperation, "I'm the one that they're staring at."

"Why?" asked Naruto wondering why his father would get mixed looks of respect and distrust.

"I guess it has something to do with the fact that I use to be an Uchiha. When you get older you might come to understand that some people will judge you on the popularity of your clan, and not on your accomplishment," explained Obito making sure his voice was loud enough to reach the people that were staring.

"That sounds stupid," Naruto stated with a frowned.

"Yes, it is, but most people still think that way," said Obito, playing devil's advocate.

"Hmph, then I'll change that way of thinking," Naruto said softly, the thought of people judging him on his clan and not his accomplishments leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

Obito, who had heard what his son had said was now dealing with a memory from his past that had just surfaced...

'._..those in the ninja world who break the rules and regulations are trash, but those who don't care about their companions are even worse trash...if I'm that kind of trash, I'll break the rules...if that's not being a true shinobi..."_

"_...then I'll crush that ideal of a shinobi_!'

Remembering that talked he had with Kakashi gave him perspective as he watched his son walk in front of him. He knew that his son was just making a childish statement, but he couldn't help but feel something deep within himself that wanted to believe in the boy. He wanted to believe that if Naruto put his mind to it then it would happen.

"A man should never make promises that he can't keep," Obito whispered seriously.

Hearing his fathers words in such a serious tone of voice made Naruto think about what he had said, and when he was done mulling over his thoughts the little boy said confidently and without any hesitation, "I won't go back on my word. I'll make people see that judging others just because of the clan they come from is wrong."

Looking into the intense sapphire blue eyes of his son, Obito could have sworn that he saw a ghost. His old sensei would get the same look when he had set his mind towards a goal, and it seemed that his son had also inherited that trait from him as well. "Fine," Obito said finally breaking free from his mood, "and if you need any help with reaching that goal...just know that I'm always here, okay?"

"Yeah," answered Naruto as the pair returned to making it to the Academy on time.

* * *

Spotting the entrance of the Academy, both Obito and Naruto slipped into the crowd of parents and children unnoticed. Naruto eyed his surroundings with an experts eye, well...as expert as an eleven year old child could get. He watched children of all ages, shapes, and sizes walk in with their families. Parents would greet their friends or other parents, and children would either gather with their friends or to shyly stand around while taking in their new surroundings.

Receiving a light push from behind Naruto smiled and began moving forward. As he came to the archway a ninja teacher, wearing a chuunin vest, greeted them. The man was lithe and slim, his skin was pale and so was his hair. He approached the two and greeted them all the while his black eyes seemed to gaze at his father with respect and something that Naruto couldn't quiet put into words. "Ohayo! Obito-sama," said the man with as he introduced himself as Mizuki, one of the chuunin Academy teachers.

Listening to the man's tone of voice and body language and studying the way his father's face slowly took on a half lidded look, he could tell the chuunin was sucking up to his dad. Uninterested in what the two of them were discussing Naruto looked around at the open yard before him. Kids of all ages were talking to each other while others were showing off new jutsu that they had just learned. Others formed groups that kept to the outer edges of the yard, for the most part they kept to themselves and were rarely interrupted by anyone. Scanning the yard that's when he saw someone that peaked his interest.

Sitting on a swing set off to the side of the groups was a young man who's black hair was long in the front and short in the back. It almost looked as if he had given himself a haircut and was lucky that it turned out so well. Naruto stepped away from his father and watched as no one walked over to the boy to talk to him, it didn't seem as if he had any friends, and any time a girl would come within twenty feet from of him he'd blasted them with a glare that would probably strip wood from a tree. '_I wonder what his problem is?_' thought Naruto as he continued to watched the kid sit alone on his swing while radiating a hostile aura that kept most everyone away from his spot.

Naruto was about to walk over there when his father's voice broke him out of his thought. "Naruto? Oh, there you are. Did you forget that I'm suppose to bring you to your first class?" Obito said while looking over to where Naruto eyes had been looking.

Seeing the boy on the swings, his father's face became slack as some unknown sadness crept into his features.

'_That must be him_,' thought Obito watching the boy sigh as he again glared at several girls that had tried to talk to him. The girls seemed to shiver and shut up as they quickly retreated into a large group of girls that all seemed to be talking about the moody boy while staying near by him.

Suddenly a bell chimed and everyone that was in the yard started to funnel into the building in front of them. The black haired boy stood up silently and before giving both Naruto and his father the same kind glare that he had given the girls. Naruto only blinked at the boys scowl, while Obito's sadness faded from his face and was replaced by disappointment. Seeing that his glare hadn't effected either of them he huffed in anger as he turned and made his way into the academy.

'_Such anger_,' Obito mentally commented about his relative, having seen the child's cold eyes and the anger that was bubbling just below the surface. Suddenly, Obito felt something small pushing him forward, turning his head he saw a blonde head of hair working to make his father move as it grumbled, "You're going to make me late!"

"Who me?" asked Obito with a grin as his son huffed loudly. "Sometimes being late is better than being early, son." Obito said in wise tones.

"Mom says you only say that because you use to be late to everything," Naruto stated while looking at the older man with narrowed eyes and a suspicious look.

"Well!" Obito laughed, quickly changing the subject as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "We should be getting you to class, right?"

* * *

Umino Iruka had finished calling attendance and was now studying his group of students. Not many teachers knew how to 'read' their classroom, it was a technique that took an attention to detail and hard work. So far out of all the teachers in the academy only Iruka had mastered this technique, and currently he was using it to give him some insight on his class.

Spying the sleeping form of the Nara child, Shikamaru, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. The Nara's propensity for "laid-back-ness" obviously was taken to a whole other level in this boy, but his mind was one of the sharpest in the academy. Most of the time the boy slept thought his lectures and classes, and yet when questioned orally he exibited in depth knowledge in almost every subject.

Hearing the crinkle of a chip bag, Iruka eyed Shikamaru's friend who sat next to him. Akimichi Chouji, a rather large boy who always seemed to eating in class, an activity that could be the cause of his lower than average grades since the only thing on the boys mind is 'what's for lunch'.

The chuunin's eyes passed over several other children and landed on the pair of Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. The two were good student, but their focus for being a ninja wasn't something that Iruka would agree with. Ino seemed to be the better ninja than Sakura, but the pink haired girl made up with her vast knowledge and almost perfect chakra control.

Following the gazed of the two girls he set his eyes on the star pupil of the class, Uchiha Sasuke. A natural born ninja genius, the boy was good at almost everything he tried his hands at in the shinobi world. However, his attitude and lone wolf personality marked him as "problematic". Besides, his attitude alone was a problem in itself, especially when 'teamwork' was an important concept that Konoha based most of it ninja cells off of.

Passing over several other children he laid his eyes on a small girl with really light lavander eyes. Hyuuga Hinata, the heir of the Hyuuga clan and a user of the Byakugan, a rather powerful bloodline limit. Seeing that she was one of his better student the only think that Iruka had to comment on the little girl was the fact that he wished that she would have a little more self confidence in what she did.

When a bark-like laugh broke out in the class room, Iruka shifted his gaze over to the boy that sat next to Hinata and scowled lightly. Inuzuka Kiba, the only things that could come to mind when he thought of the boy was that he was loud, brash, thick headed and often too willing to skip class. Although Kiba was a pretty good ninja in the physical sense, he often lacked the patience and intelligence that most ninja's have at their disposal.

About to bring his class to attention, the experienced teacher eye's fell upon a boy that sat in the row just below Kiba's. Aburame Shino sat quietly as he glasses reflected the overhead light. Personally, Iruka would have liked it if the boy was a bit more sociable, but other than that his grades were above average and his skills as a were quite well developed. Thinking of all the ninja that were in this room and the potential they possessed, Iruka smiled as he knew most of them would grow to be great ninja.

Having tarried enough in starting today's lesson, Iruka stood up from his desk and walked to the front of the room. When he opened his mouth to speak a knock at the classroom door made him close it while confusion flooded his face.

Walking over to the door he opened it to see three people standing before him. The Academy supervisor stood before Iruka with a tall man black haired man behind him while a blonde haired boy stood in front of them both.

"Iruka, I'm sorry to spring this on you in such short notice, but it seems that we have a late comer who has been entered into our academy," The man in front of Iruka loot a bit nervous but he kept his composure as he continued on, "This is Uch...uh...," the supervisor stammered as the black haired man eyes narrowed slightly at his introduction, "Uzumaki Obito and his son Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto will be joining your class for the remainder of the year. Is that understood?"

'_What the hell_?' Iruka said to himself as he saw his supervisor look nervous as if he was on the edge of a mental breakdown. "Sure," Iruka nodded, stepping out of the way and motioned for Naruto to enter the room. The boy said his goodbyes to his father and stepped inside as the black haired man turned and left the two chuunin's in the hallway.

"Sweet, kami!" the supervisor pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead lightly.

"Isao? What the hell was that?" Iruka said bring out his thoughts, "I thought that those who came late were suppose to be admitted during the summer only?"

"Iruka! That was Uchiha Obito, and as for the addition to your class...if you want to contest it you can talk to Hokage-sama because that is where his recommendation came from!"

"What!?" Iruka said in surprise as he looked at the blonde boy on the other side of the door. '_Sandaime Hokage-sama gave the boy permission to enter the academy out of order? What's going on here_?' thought Iruka, as Isao patted his back and said, "Good luck!" After which, he left quickly while talking about needing a 'stiff drink'.

Sighing deeply, the now slightly flustered teacher opened the door and walked back into his class room, all the while feeling as if his world was about to be turned upside down.

* * *

As soon as Naruto and his father had entered the building, they had been quickly ushered through the academy halls by a man that introduced himself as the academy supervisor. The man had offered to guide them to their destination, and while walked there he spoke to his father about the academy's curriculum.

Striding up to a classroom, the supervisor knocked on the classrooms sliding door. Within seconds the door was slowly opened by a man who had a confused look, as well as a nasty looking scar, across his face. Not really hearing a word that the men were talking about, Naruto sized up his new sensei and found that he wasn't getting anything from the man that could be considered bad.

Seeing how they interrupted his class, the man was handling everything in stride and even seemed to have time to look him over once or twice. '_He must be an efficient ninja_,' thought Naruto as he noticed the man's relaxed demeanor and the way he seemed to handle the news of a new student. When his sensei moved out of the way and allowed him access to the classroom Naruto walked in to the surprise of all the children in the room. '_Great_,' Naruto said to himself as the door behind him closed and he was left on his own to be scrutinized by every person in the room.

'_Well, if you can't beat them...join them_!' Naruto told himself as he looked at all the faces in the room. Several were kids that he had seen outside playing with their friends or conversing in a group. Naruto soon grew tired of looking over everyone and soon switched from check out faces to checking out seating arrangements. He noticed that in the classroom there were several seats still open.

The first seat was beside a boy who seemed to be inhaling a bad of chips. '_Not likely_,' thought Naruto as he frowned lightly and refocused his efforts. The next seat was up front and seemed to have a fine layer of dust on it. '_This seat seems to scream 'I-Am-A-Teachers-Pet', doesn't it?_' Naruto thought while he shook his head. Looking over at the rows nearest the windows there was a seat open. However, as soon as he looked at the seat he happened to glance at the person who sat next to that seat and he thought better of it. There sitting at the end of the row was the black haired boy from the school yard, a bored look plastered on his face. Naruto thought about sitting there, but then decided to preserve his sanity and looked around for another seat. '_Ahh_!' Naruto sighed mentally as he saw a perfect seat that seemed to be empty. There was a seat, in the middle row, next to a boy that was wearing shades and hadn't been spoken for as of yet. However, something told Naruto that if he sat there he wouldn't have to engage in too much conversation with the boy and that suited him just fine.

Suddenly the door opened to the class room as Naruto new sensei stepped in and spoke directly to Naruto, "I'm Iruka, for the duration of your education I would ask you to call me Iruka-sensei. Your Naruto-kun right?" Naruto nodded his head as the man led him to the front of the class and announced his entry to their class, which raised a few eyebrows of those who knew the rules of the school.

"Please introduce yourself, Naruto," said Iruka while stepping back and watching how the boy handled being put on the spotlight.

"Konichiwa! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm glad to meet you all and I hope that we get to know each other," Naruto said as many in the room smiled, while others looked disinterested. However, it was the arrogant huff that came from the dark haired boy that made his blood boil just a bit, but he didn't allow himself to be swayed as he focused on the task at hand.

Iruka was not overwhelmingly taken by the boys performance, but he was surprised that the boy was able to keep his address to the class simple and to the point. "Well," said Iruka as he looked at his seating arrangements, "I think I'll put you..."

"Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto softly so as not to draw too much attention.

"Hm?"

"Do you think I can uh...occupy...the seat over there?" asked Naruto as he pointed to an open seat that was right next to the Aburame boy, "That is...if it not too much trouble?"

'_At lease he has some tact_,' thought Iruka as he checked the seating arrangements and nodded his consent. Naruto smiled brightly as he said in a cheerful manner, "Thanks, Iruka-sensei!"

Bounding over to where he was going to sit, Naruto pulled off his pack and set it on the inside of his desk before he looked over at his desk partner and said quietly, "Uzumaki Naruto! And you are?"

A split second of hesitation the boy with the glasses moved slightly and said, "Aburame Shino."

Naruto nodded in a way of saying 'pleased to meet you', and surprisingly the boy nodded back. '_This is going to be a great year_!' Naruto thought as he pulled out a pen and paper while he began writing something in a note book that he took out while Iruka had begun lecturing the class about what they had learned from last year.


End file.
